FOLKSBIENE

(People's stage)

   One of the outstanding as well as long-lived Yiddish amateur theatre groups that paralleled the little theatre movement of the 1910s and 1920s was the Folksbiene or People's Stage in New York. It grew out of several initiatives that merged under various names. Beginning in 1915, the Folksbiene produced at least one play each winter, performing on weekends. Professional directors were hired and high standards upheld for the material in deliberate contrast to the exuberant trashiness or shund of the Yiddish popular theatre. The group never had a permanent home, but maintained its loyal following as it moved to various venues.